Vote to protect public safety

There’s still time for voters to support the sheriff, state’s attorney, coroner, public defender, court services, juvenile justice center, county jail and many other departments and their programs that are designed to help keep us safe in Kane County.

Rising salaries, several years of a static CPI by the county board and unfunded mandates from the state have stretched the county’s budget to a breaking point for basic services that provide safety for residents.

Safety is important and 71% of the County Board’s General Fund goes specifically to Safety and Court Services.

The last item on the April 1 ballot in Kane County is a Public Safety Sales Tax Referendum that, if passed, would give the adequate financial support to these important departments for the foreseeable future. It would place a 75-cent sales tax on $100 on all items sold in Kane County except groceries, medicine and automobiles. And it will not raise the property tax.

Keep in mind this modest sales tax would be paid not only by residents, but also by visitors who shop in Kane County. So, a significant portion of our safety budget could be supported by nonresidents in the future.

Establishing adequate funding right now is required to avoid a serious shortfall in the very near future and the potential loss in the quality of critical safety services in the county. This tax would be a fair and immediate solution to that problem.

I am in complete support of the innovative programs that our the elected officials have developed and that have made Kane County a national model for Law Enforcement and court services. We need to pay for them. I hope you think so too. Vote yes on the Safety Sales Tax Referendum.

Chris Kious

Algonquin